Quiet Daze - Viewing A Decade EP

Kind of Detroit techno by-numbers over the A-side of Herr Pinnekamp’s Transmat release. I’m not too familiar with much of his work, and there is a lot of it, but what I’ve heard has varied widely in quality. Same here, then.

“November” is a typical rolling 313 synthy track. Shiny sounds, not doing much. Not unlike Transmat’s previous release, from Aril Brikha, in that it’s trying really quite hard to sound like Detroit techno, so hard they forgot to make it actually sound good as well.

“Being Quiet” is again a competent track, again lacking anything inspiring or original. Sounding very much like a take on early Stacey Pullen, with its jumpy snares and kick drums leaving it drifting in that area between house and techno, but not really confident enough in itself, so it’s a bit like a lost kid.

Why “Coming Full Circle” was released on a label with the pedigree of Transmat I can’t guess. I know that Derrick May has the odd dodgy disco filter moment when DJing, perhaps he thought this would go well at such a time. This is pointless and goes nowhere, except perhaps in the circles referred to in its title. How many tracks like this are there out there, disco samples looped over a kick drum? Far too many, and not one of them needs to be on this label, which could easily command the best of the best.

Finally, we are off the beaten track, taking “The Scenic Route”. It was worth it after all, as this track saves the record from being condemned to mediocrity. The track is lead from the start by a melodic line, played with a nicely modulating synth that makes it sound just a little bit ill. Soon, a bassline follows the lead note for note, and some soft piano chords heavily awash with reverb drift in the background, while more atmospheric synth sounds inject a heavily nostalgic vibe that really does make one feel that you’re going somewhere beautiful. The lead/bassline combo never goes away, keeping it familiar. There’s no pumping kick drum here, although a soft pulse does provide enough momentum to keep people swaying. A real pleasant surprise at the end of an otherwise dull record.